As promised, here is the &quot;raw text&quot; of the GT/CS Concours Rules for my 1996 Book. What I have here is (you may wish to print them for yourself to go over) the part of my book that I wrote at that time. The page numbers in parenthesis I list to are in reference to my 1988 GT/CS book (now out of print).

I did not include every Shelby option for space, and it wasn't that revelant for basic rules.

What I would like is for everyone to look these over, and provide any input, changes, updates, corrections, opinions, etc...here on this message board--or--you can e-mail me directly with your comments at:

When these are edited properly, we should be able to get Jon (webmaster) to post these as a courtesy for owners (and clubs --take note) on a specific &quot;rules&quot; page on this very website!

Here they are:

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INTRODUCTION
After many years of detailed research based on the GT/CS Registry, as well as the recently-discovered Shelby Automotive blueprints, we provide here the most current and accurate rules and guidelines for judging a GT/CS at Concours events. They are grouped in 6 basic sections;

Any Mustang or auto club is welcome, if not encouraged to include these rules -- such as SAAC, MCA, or any local-based clubs -- which may include them in their updated rule booklets (with source acknowledgment).

Standard production &quot;68 Mustang information gleaned from this information is welcome to be shared with clubs and individuals interested in using them in their personal restorations, and/or club guidelines. These rules are strictly based on &quot;authenticity&quot;.

New information on the authenticity of the Mustang is constantly being brought forth, and the GT/CS Registry is no exception. One unresolved aspect is determining the point in time the car is to be represented. Would it be at the moment the car was driven off the dealer's lot, or after the &quot;dealer-installed&quot; options were added? ALL GT/CS features and details are listed to assist car show judges, as well as owners to properly decide how a GT/CS is to be properly &quot;equipped&quot; and shown. Shelby options and accessories are also listed if you so desire to add them (how they are accepted in Concours shows remains to be seen).

Bear in mind that with all mass production vehicles, there are factory and dealer variations. However, to narrow the possibilities, the items listed here represent overwhelmingly consistent results of the GT/CS Survey and Registry of over 750 cars, and extensive research by the author. Items listed include references to page numbers of the &quot;GT/CS Recognition Guide and Owner's Manual&quot;, published in 1988 (currently out of print). These GT/CS rules are provided including the optional features which were still available within the historical context of February through September, 1968 factory production. We provide these rules based on data, dedicated questioning, and many years of research and documentation (and phone calls!), both written and photographic. The recent addition of copies of the Shelby Automotive &quot;California Mustang&quot; blueprints has added tremendously to the search for the last word on detailing .

We wish to offer you the best of luck , and that your efforts in restoring and showing your GT/CS are well rewarded. Upon any questions about your car, please offer these rules and guidelines to the judging team as evidence when answering specific questions. The GT/CS Mustang is somewhat different from the standard San Jose Factory coupe. Therefore specific features and details have been provided to aid in Concours Judging . The GT/CS Registry also welcomes any new information which may update this information.

All items discussed below are listed in the 1989 GT/CS publication. The page numbers for each are listed at the left.

(page 23) 1968 Mustang Coupe, built at the San Jose Ford (Milpitas) Plant only. &quot;R&quot; code in second character of VIN #. Built between Feb 8th to July 31st, 1968 (with a few cars with build dates of Jan--see registry listing). High Country Specials built from June 8th to July 31st.

(page 24, ) All Interiors, trim and exterior colors for Mustang available (except beige). Note: Only cars built in January-February had padded strip above glove box door, and on inner windshield pillars.

(page 27, 56)All wheels, wheel covers, and production tires available on the GT/CS, as with any '68 (SJ) Mustang.

(page 36)Bumper Guards ( front all chrome, rear body color with rubber strip) accepted. The CS package did not affect this option. Most GT/CS cars built before Feb 15th do have them, due to it being a regular production item until around that date. The &quot;Sprint&quot; option was not available with the GT/CS package.

(page 50-55) Transmission codes, and rear axle codes the same as regular production (SJ) Mustangs.

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1968 San Jose Factory Coupe Features

There aren't many specific features to the San Jose (Ford) factory coupes, although there are a few worth mentioning. They are plaid trunk mat (over 95%), round base antenna (over 98%), and underside painted body color with appropriate primers, etc. These cars were not black on the bottom like some Meteuchen or Dearborn cars, since the San Jose cars were built primarily for the western states, Hawaii and Alaska. San Jose cars did have minimal undercoating, and additional undercoating was applied at the dealership up on the rack as a dealer option.

Regular 1968 features for GT/CS coupes include: All engines, 200, 289, 302, 390-2V, GT390, and 428CJ. The registry has provided us with a time frame of March '68 when the &quot;C&quot; coded engines quietly went from a 289 block to a 302 block for the 2V versioned V8. All regularly available transmissions, including C-4 and C-6 automatics, 3-speed manual, and toploader 4-speed, including close-ratio. No factory Hurst shifters in '68. All 2bbl. 390 &quot;X&quot; code engines used C-6 automatics.

Both types ( standard &amp; deluxe) and all available colors of interiors. Same as any regular production '68 Mustang coupe. Every body color available, except beige (note: only one beige GT/CS known of, sold in Nevada).

All wheel, hubcap and tire combinations were available. Many GT/CS cars had or have the '68 styled steel rally wheel (14x6) option. Either argent painted (only on GT), or upgrade to all chrome by the dealer for GT, and/or for non-GT with plain centers. Both Polyglas AND Firestone Wide Ovals installed at the San Jose plant in roughly same numbers (as per discussion with a San Jose factory worker in 1990, who was in charge of tires).

Only the '68 Spring Sprint package wasn't available on the GT/CS, for obvious reasons. The Sprint package basically consisted of a GT-&quot;C&quot; stripe, argent rally wheels with plain center caps, and regular GT fog lights and GT grille. The stripe and fog lights were items not compatible with the GT/CS option. The GT option, however was available on the GT/CS, although only consisted of F-70x14 wide oval tires on argent 14x6 rally wheels and GT center caps, dual exhaust with rear valance and chrome dual tips, and heavy duty front and rear springs (GT items NOT included on the GT/CS include std. fog lights and grille, side stripe, or C-Stripe, and GT fender emblems--although, ironically, Ford charged GT/CS owners the same price for the GT option despite these deletions, as reflected on invoices sent to the registry).

The rear reflector was changed in production very close to April 26th, 1968. Due to problems getting rear quarter/fender sheet metal stamped to '68 specs, '67 spec'd sheet metal was used, along with a Montego reflector, which was also used on the '68 Cougar, also assembled on the same line at the San Jose plant.

There is some evidence by the clusters of VIN numbers, and DSO numbers that the GT/CS was built in groups, and perhaps on specific days. This would make more sense during the initial phase and large production from Feb 15th to mid-April, '68. When the GT/CS was first presented to the management at the plant, it met with some resistance, since no previous FORD has been assembled with fiberglass before the GT/CS. Obviously, production went well, as the quality and fit and finish was excellent to last over 20 years!

San Jose cars also included their build tags affixed to the front right (pass. side) of the core (radiator) support, near the inside top of the headlight bucket, just behind the grille. It was attached with a large headed sheet metal screw. Some of these tags do still survive. Lastly, the GT/CS shares its San Jose plant heritage with the '65-67 Shelbys, although the CS was completely assembled at this plant.

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2. GT/CS-SPECIFIC ITEMS

The following items are specific to the GT/CS factory package option for mid-1968, built only at the San Jose plant for sales in primarily California, but expanded to the western states, including the HCS for DSO 51, Denver, Colorado:

The items listed above are explained in greater detail on the following pages. The basic rule description is in bold for each item, and page references to the &quot;GT/CS Recognition Guide &amp; Owner's Manual&quot; are listed with each title.

A. GT/CS GRILLE &amp; GRILLE MOLDINGS
(page 40)

The GT/CS Grille is a modified 1967 Mustang (non-GT) grille. Includes custom-made fog light brackets for the (original) Marchal lights to bolt into place. The grille and brackets are painted dark grey metallic (PPG-Ditzler 32930). All rivets on the grille and brackets are natural, and are flat with no center holes. Tabs at each end of grille that attach to the radiator support are to be semigloss black, with natural (flat head) rivets. All GT/CS and HCS cars had these grilles, regardless of fog light type.

The grille moldings (left, right and center) that are located in front of the grille are painted the same &quot;dark grey metallic&quot;, as well as the supports for the Lucas lights. The raised chrome trim that meets the grille is not painted, and left chrome (polished aluminum.).

The GT/CS used two types of Fog Lamps: the Marchal 656/322, and Lucas &quot;LT&quot; Square 8 type. The Marchal version was installed on all cars from the beginning of production until April 26th, 1968, upon the Lucas type were installed from that date on at the factory, and all cars previous to that date were recalled for retrofit to the Lucas type. Both Marchal and Lucas are acceptable only on cars dated April 26th, and earlier. All cars after that date, including all HCS cars, had only Lucas type fog lights. Both types of lights routed the wiring through the center mounting hole of the grille brackets. All Lucas lights were installed on pedestals by the dealer retrofit, and at the factory.

The original fog lights are Marchal 656/322 type , similar to those used on the GT-40 Mk.III, and 250 GTO Ferraris. They are identified by the &quot;eyebrow&quot; at the top, and the word &quot;fantastic&quot; raised on the glass around a noticeably starred dimple. These fog lights mount directly onto the brackets, and use a beveled washer for positioning. The wiring goes from the lamp, through the bolt, and through the bracket. The wiring uses &quot;male&quot; ends that plug into a Ford two prong (GT fog light connector in the wiring harness) connector, with the use of a double ended &quot;female&quot; connector, usually red in color..

A standard GT/Sprint type fog light switch, mounted to the left of the radio under the dash panel, is used to turn them on and off. This circuit is separate from the headlight circuit, although it also turns on the taillights.

The Lucas brand fog lights are also known as the &quot;LT&quot; or &quot;square eight&quot; type, often used on Jaguars and Jensen Healeys in England, as well as the '68 Shelby.. These lights have an all chrome body, grey sheathed wire, with black grommet. The wire was routed into the center hole in the grille brackets, to the Ford connectors (identical to the Marchals, using two male ended connectors). They are mounted on dark grey metallic painted pedestals, standing 1 7/8&quot; tall, and 1&quot; diameter, beveled on both ends. The square chrome bases that came with the lights, and used on the '68 Shelby, are NOT used on the GT/CS. Most cars with factory installed Lucas lights also had a small black washer included at the base of the tube. As the lights sit, they should be centered in front of the Marchal grille brackets.

C. HOOD &amp; HOOD LOCKS
(page 43,44)

Part of the GT/CS package was the &quot;Louvered Hood&quot;, a standard item on early (pre-Jan 1) '68 Mustangs. This hood includes the integrated turn signals, and &quot;quarter turn&quot; hood locks. This hood includes a wiring harness (C7ZZ-13A357-B), that runs down the inside of the hood, identical to regular production Mustangs with similar hoods.

Available on this hood was the &quot;two-tone&quot; hood option, which was semi-flat (Ditzler 9295) black only, and ran the length of the hood to the turn signal inserts, and cowling. It is unusual to find this paint option on cars with white stripes, although not exclusive. On Cobra Jet cars, there is a hood scoop, similar to the '69 Mach I , but slightly different for '68, mounted on a standard hood.. A low-gloss black center hood stripe (17&quot; wide) is painted on the hood scoop, as well as middle of the hood, from cowling to the leading edge, exactly as other '68 Cobra Jet Mustangs.

On both style hoods, the GT/CS uses the '68 Shelby &quot;Quarter Turn&quot; hood locks. These hood locks attach by a washer that adheres to the top of the hood, and is retained with a &quot;C&quot; clip , mounted on the pin part of the lock. A coiled spring is located between the washer and underside of the lock. These locks go through a 9/16&quot; hole on the topside, and a 2 1/2 dia hole on the underside. Special note: the inside edge is natural, rough cut metal, as it is not painted (these holes were cut on an assembled, painted hood).

Mounted on the radiator support, just behind the grille, are the &quot;Hood Pin Retainers&quot;, unique to the GT/CS, and different from those used on the '68 Shelby. These replace the hood bumpers usually located there, and attach with three natural sheet metal screws with hex heads. There retainers are adjustable (up and down). They are painted the same semi-flat black as the inner fenders, etc. Since these are in place, the hood bumpers (molded on-stud type 16763-1) with adjusting nut, are relocated to the front fender bolt location, closest to the grille.

The GT/CS uses side scoops nearly identical to those used on the '68 Shelby although they have no cutouts, and they are nonfunctional. This &quot;filled in&quot; type uses a black vinyl insert, with a stainless steel grille piece insert (unpainted, natural, no clear gloss), attached with two (hole centered) rivets, one at each end (top, bottom) of the grille.

These scoops, as like the '68 Shelby version, have a &quot;witness line&quot;, which is an exposed seam on the side of the scoop, where the opening (mouth) meets the scoop body. This seam is not on the '67 version of this same scoop. The GT/CS scoop attaches with a center bolt to a gold cadmium nut (w/washer) to the body (unseen), and two stainless screws with philips, slightly rounded, and unpainted heads. All scoops are painted body color and have the GT/CS stripe applied, which wraps under the scoop screen.

(continued)

E. TRUNK LID, SPOILER &amp; END CAPS
(pp. 45-46 )

The GT/CS Trunk lid (also known as &quot;deck lid&quot;) and end caps are identical to the one used on the '68 Shelby convertible. Made of a special fiberglass-- plastic sheets stamped in steel molds, like sheet metal (&quot;fiber&quot; underside texture like currently made aftermarket fiberglass is unacceptable). All pieces are painted body color. When the trunk lock is turned, the deck lid pops up quickly, with the use of a CS-only deck lid spring . The Calif. Emissions and trunk decals are applied on the underside of the trunk lid--similar to regular production Mustangs. Small foam strips are attached to the left and right inside lid edges to seal against the end caps, and are grey in color.

The base color is a milky pink-white, with a grey primer. The trunk lid, once opened, displays a smooth texture (unlike that of hand-laid aftermarket fiberglass). There are no signs of the fiberglass cloth, or resin. The trunklid inside has a hole on the inside lip, just below the spoiler on the right side, which , presumably was for a trunk light. On the lower right, near where it attaches to the trunk spring, there is a 3/8&quot; dia hole. (This is extremely common but not exclusive to CS cars). All trunk lids are two-piece, and the fiberglass bracing on the underside is identical to the metal version on regular Mustangs (and are very visible on top when the temperature drops!). The end caps attach with gold cadmium nuts with integral washers, similar to regular Mustang end cap hardware. A slight misalignment of the end caps is normal. When the trunk lid is closed, there is usually a slight mismatch with the top of the end spoiler and caps. The trunk lid also uses the same (metal) lock and latch assembly--and weatherstrip as on regular production Mustangs.

F. TRUNK &amp; TAILLIGHT HARNESS
(pp. 47,48)

The inside trunk includes cardboard luggage protectors, identical to those used on the '68 Shelby, and are dark grey in color, and unpainted. They are held in place with the wiring harness metal tab on the upper inside, about half with little rubber sleeves attached. Most to all CS cars (95+%) have plaid trunk mats, not painted speckle, although some plaid mats were installed upside down, showing a matted cloth texture, often called &quot;speckle&quot;. The spare tire and jack assembly is the same for any other San Jose-produced '68 Mustang coupe. The proper GT/CS taillight wiring harness is identified by the large T-bird, 6 prong type connectors, and a (purple) tag taped to the harness with the number &quot;FoMoCo, SXR, C8ZZ-14405-A&quot;, located on the far right side, inside the trunk. Other wires, such as the license plate, and gas level sender are taped to the right inner wheelhouse with cloth tape.

G. TAILLIGHT PANEL &amp; GAS CAP
(pp. 46-48)

The GT/CS taillight panel is a fiberglass piece that houses the '65 Thunderbird taillight assemblies, including (all) chrome bezels. All GT/CS taillight panels are painted body color, and NOT argent (like the '68 Shelby), or black. This panel attaches with the use of satin black philips head sheet metal screws with integral washers (on some early cars, built in Feb-March, the area around the gas cap cutout can be either rough and/or spaced farther from the steel body by an additional 1/8th. inch).

The gas cap used on the GT/CS is the dealer option pop-off type (C8ZZ-9030-C) with black &quot;horse &amp; corral&quot; type emblem.

Behind the back panel for the taillights are a set of metal plates only visible behind the cardboard luggage protectors. These plates, numbering 6 total, are painted semigloss black, and not body color. Since the cardboard luggage protectors hide these plates, they are not visible.

GT/CS stripes came only in White, Black, Red, and Medium Blue metallic. The chart at right lists the combinations of the stripes and body color. As a general rule, stripe color matched interior color. The stripe runs from where the headlight bucket meets the fender, to the rear of the side scoop. The stripe folds over at about 1&quot; at the door jamb locations. It is to at least appear that it folds into the fender edge at the headlight bucket.

The optional &quot;accent stripe&quot; which was applied at the factory or dealer, always matched the stripe color, and ran from the leading edge of the fender to near the end of the rear quarter panel (not on end cap), was two thin stripes, ending to a painted point, similar to other Fords of the time.

The GT/CS only had the &quot;Mustang&quot; script emblems on the fenders and right side of the deck lid. There was no use of the &quot;horse &amp; bars&quot; fender emblems (nor holes for them drilled in fender) indicating engine size. The GT fender emblem was not used on the GT/CS, although the red &quot;GT&quot; emblems are used on GT rally wheel's center caps.

All GT/CS cars had the polished aluminum (chrome) rocker moldings.

3. OPTIONS FOR YOUR GT/CS

Many GT/CS cars, as evident by the answers provided in the GT/CS Registry, had both many factory and dealer options. Since the GT/CS was a promotional car, it often was a candidate for many options. A few cars were special ordered loaded with many options.

Shelby Parts &amp; Accessories, a division of Shelby American in Los Angeles, provided Ford dealers and the general public high performance parts and accessories for their Mustang, Fairlane, Ranchero, Thunderbird, etc. Many times these parts were installed by the dealer at the request of the owner at purchase, or at some point later, were added by the owner themselves.

A very low percentage of GT/CS cars are known to have had these modifications, (less than 1%). We have provided a list of the parts available at that time (Mar-Sept. 1968) if you are interested in obtaining these parts for your GT/CS, and want a &quot;vintage performance&quot; look with this optional equipment. Items such as wheels, intakes and valve covers were the most commonly added (although some intakes might have voided the Ford warranty). If an owner wanted more he/she usually just bought a Shelby. In the spirit of &quot;it was available from the dealer then&quot; we list the following items --historically speaking. For further information, you might want to track down a very rare original copy of the '68 1/2 Shelby Parts Catalog, and/or obtain ads as they appeared in Hot Rod, Car Craft, etc. during Mar-Aug 1968.

It was not uncommon for Ford Dealers in the Los Angeles area to add parts like these on all types of Mustangs, Thunderbirds and Galaxies. This was a common practice, often with the added parts lost over the many years, and during restorations.

There is no guarantee that having these parts on your GT/CS will or will not affect your point scores in concours shows (this is something that future rules committees need to address) We provide these parts in an attempt to allow you to decide, and assist in your search. The following ads appeared in Hot Rod, Playboy, and Car Craft from Mar-Aug, 1968. Concours rules should consider parts from these catalogs as &quot;dealer options&quot;, since they were obtainable from most Ford dealers.

Below is an advertisement in a Ford dealer publication, by Autolite (March, 1968), describing the Cobra and Shelby Performance parts catalogs available in mid-1968. These were the catalogs from which owners could order parts to install themselves, or by the dealer (special thanks to SAAC for providing catalog information). For further information check the Holman-Moody Performance Parts Catalog for 1968--as another &quot;via-Ford dealer&quot; parts reference. There were also a few &quot;aftermarket&quot; performance parts, both Ford and non-Ford, available at that time from the dealer or from mail order as listed in old issues of Hot Rod, etc.

Many, many Mustang and Musclecar magazines are out there, and the restoration articles are endless. Look in these articles for correct color codes and authentic parts. The information can be overwhelming!! Also check the bibliography in this registry for more articles to help in your restoration and showing of your GT/CS.

1. '68 windshields are different from '65-'67 types. The '68 &quot;bows&quot; out more near the top of the windshield.
2. From what we can learn, all GT/CS cars had black-dipped upper and lower control arms (tho' this is not 100% sure).
3. Fender bolts on the GT/CS are natural, not black.
4. Over 98% of the cars researched, had &quot;plaid&quot; trunk mats. What was called &quot;speckled&quot; were actually the plaid mats installed up-side down, exposing the &quot;lint&quot; type multi-colored underside.
5. Rear reflectors changed on or near Feb 15th, as supplies changed at the factory. Bumper guards were more common on earlier cars.
6. NO &quot;T-bird&quot; taillight bezels have black paint on the outer edges ( as on the service part bezel). They are all-chrome.
7. We are 99% sure that the only gas cap used was the pop-off type with the black and chrome &quot;running horse&quot; emblem.
8. Black, White, Red or Metallic BLue stripes were the only colors. Gold, silver, etc. were never used on factory cars.
9. There were several cars with improperly installed Lucas lights by the dealer, during the Marchal recall after April 26th. This included the use on the Lucas chrome square pedestal, and not using the tube pedestal to bring it to the proper height. Although the dealer made this mistake, concours cars should reflect the intended, proper installation.
10. Dealer metal tags, common in the Midwest and East Coast, were not used on the GT/CS, although a few HCS cars have them. Whether you retain those tags on your car or not is up to you.
11. The &quot;California Special&quot; script never used plastic &quot;barrel nuts&quot; into the body to attach (as included with some script sold), The CS script used small speednuts from behind, easily visible on the inside of the quarter panel.
12. Remember when restoring your GT/CS (or any other Mustang or Shelby) to approach it as a historical vehicle, and as you inspect and disassemble the car, to make notes of what is original, such as original undercoating, colors, etc. When you build the car back up, do so with the intent of how you intend to enjoy the car. Concours or street, or &quot;restomod&quot;. The bottom line is your enjoyment of YOUR Mustang!!

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(Please remember that these rules are &quot;copyright 1989, 1996, by Paul M. Newitt&quot;, and are not to be reproduced, copied or stored without prior written permission by the author).